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CNN International: A Year's Worth Of Rain Falls On Dubai Causing Deluge; Gaza Authorities: 56 People Killed In Past 24 Hours; Top UK & German Diplomats Urge Israel To Avoid Escalation. Aired 11a- 12p ET
Aired April 17, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
It's been called the historic weather event, dangerous flooding striking the Gulf region, flash floods turning roads into rivers and paralyzing one of the world's busiest airports. Afghanistan and Pakistan were also hit. We're going to have more. The Israeli Prime Minister thanking world leaders for their advice, but also saying that it's up to Israel to decide how and when to respond to Iran's weekend bombardment. Plus, Boeing safety practices under scrutiny. A whistleblower will be the key witness at a Senate hearing in Washington later this hour, and we'll take you there.
Well, we want to begin this hour with the severe weather, roads are underwater, flights are disrupted, after a year's worth of rain fell in less than a day on the UAE. Some areas there saw more than 250 millimeters on Tuesday. And this was the scene at Dubai International Airport. It's incredible, large jets looking more like boats, as water sprayed, and waves rippled, as they move through flooded runways and tarmacs. Hundreds of flights have either been canceled or delayed or diverted. The airport advising people not to go there unless it is absolutely necessary. And on the streets, drivers there had to contend with virtual rivers. It was so bad that some people just left their cars, abandoned their cars. And take a look at this mall, water just pouring in. Incredible. The rushing water also flooding many people's homes.
Let's go to the scene and bring in CNN's Eleni Giokos, who joins us from Dubai. Eleni, hard to even imagine what you're standing in front of, because all we see is water.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
SOLOMON: Give us a sense of what things are like on the ground there.
GIOKOS: Well, let me tell you, I am in water, and I've been knee deep in water the entire day. It has been absolutely catastrophic in terms of the damage that we've seen after these torrential rains that pummeled down on Dubai and in the entire UAE yesterday, and absolutely scary. I mean, my pass was flooded. We lost power. So many homes experienced the same thing. And then, in this street, what you probably think is a river or some kind of lake, this is a residential area. And what residents tell me, this is half of the water that was there this morning. So, essentially, the water levels have somewhat gone down. But, I just wonder how long it's going to take the cleanup.
You mentioned the airports, complete disaster there. People weren't actually able to get to Dubai International, Sheikh Zayed Road, one of the most important arteries, flooded, people trapped in their cars for hours, cars submerged, cars, of course, unable to move through the water. In fact, there are some cars that are submerged in this residential area as well, Rahel. It's incredible to see. Schools are shut down. People have been told to work from home. And honestly, some of the images absolutely harrowing. Take a look.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): Powerful storms, torrential rainfall, bringing Dubai to a standstill, disrupting the lives of thousands. Among the towering skyscrapers, the rain fell so heavily and so quickly, streets were turned into rivers, highways into lakes, cars submerged underwater, people stuck for hours on the main road to the airport, forced to abandon their vehicles as the flooded water rose. And at Dubai International Airport, planes battled against flooded runways. Emirates Airlines halted all departing flights from Dubai on Wednesday, with the incoming flights being diverted to neighboring countries.
Severe weather also affected other Gulf States. In neighboring Oman, at least 18 people died in flash floods, according to the country's National Committee for Emergency Management.
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GIOKOS: This region is known for its hot and dry weather. That is why scenes like this are completely unprecedented. We're talking about four inches or 100 millimeters of rain in the course of 12 hours. That is what Dubai normally experiences over one year. Now, this is also record rainfall since data began around 75 years ago. Dubai is known for its dazzle. It's known for its innovation, but perhaps in many ways, infrastructure has been overlooked because it simply cannot cope with this type of rainfall, and with climate change becoming a reality globally and also here in the Middle East, perhaps that needs to change.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): Rain is expected to taper off in the region, but a few showers may linger Wednesday before dry weather returns.
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GIOKOS: You know, Rahel, we were on one of the main arteries, one of the main highways and people were just being dropped off by taxis in the middle of nowhere because most public transport were just refusing to go to certain areas, knowing that they would get stuck. In fact, when we were driving around, we almost got stuck. And we just saw so many cars submerged. We also met a few people. One person had come to Dubai specifically to go to a conference. They were unable to get there.
And then we met a woman who says that her plane was going in circles for around three hours before eventually being diverted to Abu Dhabi, and then she was delayed by seven hours and then eventually left in the middle of a highway, where then we helped her to go to her hotel because she was carrying luggage. And she had a six-year-old little girl.
What is of course encouraging is that we saw so many Emiratis coming in with their big trucks to try and help people and drive them to their final destination, to help people. We saw emergency services really working around the clock to try and assist Dubai International Airport with so many passengers that were stranded at the airport, unable to get taxis to their hotels, also offering them food and water and a place to stay. I mean, it's been incredible to see hotels have been chipping in. And now, it's the cleanup. You've got insurance companies really trying to assess the damage.
But, the point here is, Rahel, that Dubai's infrastructure is just not made for this type of rainfall and that is why you see this kind of flooding. You don't really have drain water -- stormwater drainage in the streets. And this is -- the water has absolutely no way to go. I mean, look at how deep I am. And of course, this is one of those shallowest areas here. We've seen people falling in ditches. It's been absolutely horrific.
We've also seen the other end of the spectrum where little kids have been taking little canoes and kind of swimming around and enjoying the water. And frankly, it's a tale of two worlds, right? You've got the excitement of the water being around in certain residential areas, and then the harrowing reality of what it means for people that were trapped. And of course, one man, 70-year-old man, losing his life around an hour or a half away from Dubai. And also, other Gulf nations experiencing these torrential rains. In Oman, over 17 people lost their lives. It's been really unprecedented to see the impact of this. People that live here -- who've lived here all their lives say they've never seen this.
SOLOMON: Yeah. You can really see that in the stories, both in terms of the infrastructure and sort of how the infrastructure is equipped to handle that much flooding, but then also in the reaction of people who live there who have probably never seen flooding like that. Eleni Giokos, good to have you there. Be safe, my friend. Great to see you. We're going to have much more on this story later in the show. We're going to have a weather forecast, and also discuss the role of climate change and what we're seeing. So, stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, as fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East grow, a diplomatic full-court press of sorts is going on in Israel today. It's an effort to keep tensions from spiraling out of control. Those efforts are happening amid violence in Gaza. Hospital officials say that a strike on a refugee camp killed at least 13 people, including seven children. Gaza's Health Ministry says that 56 people have been killed in the enclave over the past 24 hours, although CNN cannot independently verify those figures.
Meantime, Iran's President has issued another warning saying that, quote "Even the slightest attack by Israel will be dealt with fiercely and severely." British Foreign Minister David Cameron and his German counterpart met with top Israeli government officials today, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Cameron urging Israel to show restraint, as it continues to weigh how it will respond to last weekend's attack by Iran.
Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, who is with us now from Jerusalem. Nic, just -- let's start in Gaza. What more can you share with us about this situation there and this strike on the refugee camp?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. The IDF says that they're still continuing their military operations in the north of Gaza against Hamas targets, but the scenes from some of the hospitals there have been absolutely harrowing, children killed in camps as the IDF has gone after their targets. A lot of people in the south of Gaza wanted to come back to the north. The IDF has told them it's not safe to do that. The idea of a ceasefire just seems so far beyond the horizon at the moment. Talks over hostage release aren't going anywhere.
And I think when we talk about Gaza, we can bring in the tensions along the northern border of Israel as well where Hezbollah has struck just across the board in a town. The IDF saying that six of their soldiers were severely injured too, moderately injured in a Hezbollah drone attack.
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Hezbollah said that that attack was triggered by two strikes on their facilities by the IDF inside of Lebanon. So, the sense that this country is surrounded by conflict in the south and growing tensions along the northern border, and you have the diplomats, top diplomats from the UK, Foreign Minister Lord David Cameron, Annalena Baerbock, his German counterpart, coming in. Not often you get two foreign ministers coming in, meeting with the Foreign Minister here, meeting the Defense Minister, meeting the President, meeting also with the Prime Minister, and the message very clearly from both these diplomats visiting is, look, whatever your response is going to be to Iran, and we rather didn't have one, but we think you are, don't escalate tensions.
This is how Cameron put it.
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DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: It's clear the Israelis are making a decision to act. We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible, and in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough. But, the real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, backing on -- back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza.
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ROBERTSON: So, you get right that. Iran is one thing. But, it's Gaza, Gaza, Gaza. That's where the international pressure is on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That's where it's been for six months, 33,899 people killed there so far. Prime Minister Netanyahu, though, despite all this international pressure over the situation in Gaza, now taking up the heat on how he should respond to Iran. But, he has been very clear here, grateful for the help that these allies gave defending Israel over the weekend. But, he says Israel will make their own choice when they're ready.
SOLOMON: Nic, I mean, it's really clear from your reporting there where some of these world leaders stand on a possible response to Iran. What can we gain from sort of public opinion or polls within Israel about where the Israeli people feel in terms of a possible response to Iran?
ROBERTSON: Yeah. I think it's super instructive. Three quarters of people here in Israel at the moment don't want Israel to strike back at Iran at the expense of losing international support. Now, there is a school of thought here that says Israel miscalculated, misread Iran when it struck the diplomatic facility in Damascus, killing those senior Iranian commanders. Israel failed to read the room rate, if you will, when it comes to Iran. Why? In part, the understanding is, because Iran thinks that Israel's position, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position, is weakened because the international pressure, because of the rift with the White House over what's happening in Gaza.
So, there is this sense that Israel read the room wrong when it hit the consulate in Damascus. Iran responded. So, the question then becomes is, is Iran -- is Israel, rather, going to read Iran right now with their response? Will they be able to deliver a response that satisfies what they want without further escalating? Iran says, no, that they will respond to any provocation, any retaliation from Israel. So, this is uncharted territory that we're in at the moment and that shouldn't be underestimated. So, when you see the tensions, as we are today, along the northern border between Israel and Lebanon, with Hezbollah, just sort of going up a notch. You get the sense that this escalation cycle we're in, it's slowly moving up.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Absolutely. Nic Robertson live for us there. Nic, thanks so much.
Let's go to Washington now where today two Senate committees are holding hearings on Boeing-related safety and mechanical issues. Now, Boeing has come under scrutiny after several issues with its planes. In January, you might remember a door plug flew off mid-air, mid- flight. This was on an Alaska Airlines plane, and that led to the grounding of all of the 737 MAX 9 jets in the U.S. that have that feature, that door plug feature. Now, one of the witnesses testifying today is a Boeing engineer, and he recently spoke to NBC. Listen to what he said.
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SAM SALEHPOUR, BOEING WHISTLEBLOWER: When the plane can break apart in an altitude and drop to the ground, I think that's a safety issue.
TOM COSTELLO, HOST, NBC NIGHTLY NEWS: You really think that's what's at stake here?
SALEHPOUR: That's exactly what's at stake here. Fatigue failure has no mercy on anybody.
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SOLOMON: Let me bring in CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean. Pete, it was -- his comments were really, at the very least, his allegations were concerning. He said at one point, I think it's as serious as I have ever seen in my lifetime. Boeing could face quite a bit of heat here. What can we expect from this hearing, Pete?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boeing has already really been on the defensive ahead of this Senate hearing that's just getting underway right now. And we'll hear from the whistleblower who alleged last week that the 787 is unsafe.
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Whistleblower's name, Sam Salehpour. He was a quality engineer on the 787 line. He saw those big sections of the 787 fuselage being joined together, and he says the gaps in those pieces are too big, which could create stress and wear, which could lead to fatigue failure over time. Now, Boeing says there is no evidence of that. In the 16 years, the 787 has been flying, about 1,100 of them flying worldwide, none lost to a crash. Salehpour was on NBC ahead of this hearing and he takes his accusation one step further. Here is the section of that interview, in which he says the 787 is at risk of falling out of the sky.
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SALEHPOUR: The plane will fall apart at the joints we're talking about. Once you fall apart, you're going to descend all the way to the ground.
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MUNTEAN: Now, the Federal Aviation Administration says it's investigating this allegation. Boeing held a press briefing on Monday, but executives would not comment directly on Salehpour's allegations. Here, though, is the statement from Boeing. It says quote, "We are fully confident in the 787 Dreamliner. These claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work Boeing has done to ensure the quality and long- term safety of the aircraft."
Now, this is just the latest chapter in this years-long saga of Boeing issues, two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, killed 346 people abroad. That led to a 20-month grounding of the 737 MAX. Then this past January, there was the Alaska Airlines door plug blow out on a 737 MAX 9. But, remember, this latest accusation has to do with the 787, not the 737, though the 787 has not been without its problems. Deliveries of new 787s were paused in 2021, 2022, because of quality issues. Some of that is because the tolerances are just so tight. The gaps allowed between the main fuselage sections are five one thousandths of an inch. That's the width of two sheets of paper as thin as a human hair. Boeing says it set that tolerance, and maybe it's more extreme than necessary for a plane to be safe. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Fascinating. Pete, always really instructive when you can sort of have props to really explain what we're talking about here. Pete Muntean, our thanks to you.
Let me continue this conversation now. Joining us now is the former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Mary Schiavo. And Mary, always good to have you. Let me just ask, I'm sure you saw the NBC news piece. I'm sure you've heard the interview. It felt -- the allegations felt quite alarming. He said at one point that the plane could theoretically fall out of the sky. I mean, how concerned are you by what you heard? What are your reactions to these allegations?
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST, & FMR. INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. TRANSPORTATION DEPT.: Well, I'm very concerned for two reasons, and the first reason is, as Pete mentioned, this is deja vu, this issue with the pieces, the sections of the fuselage. And you have to remember that on the Dreamliner, there are four key sections. They're like metal cylinders, or composite cylinders, rather, that are joined together at the Boeing assembly plant, and those are made by different people. And they have to fit together very closely, because over time, a plane fuselage is just like a balloon. Every time it's pressurized, it blows up. And when it lands or is depressurized, it contracts.
And over time, those joints, those rivets, the pieces that are fastened together, they stretch and can go out of shape. And over time, you will see more of a danger. But, since it was brought to Boeing's attention back in 2020 and 2021, I remember, Dreamliner, that's what this plane is, Dreamliner deliveries were suspended for a while because of this issue. I think it's even more troubling, because once again, we're saying, wait a minute, Boeing. You said this was handled. And wait a minute, Federal Aviation Administration. You said this was handled and you gave Boeing the authority to go on, so the fact that this has happened before and these allegations are very alarming. And yes, if the plane has a stress fracture, it will fall out the sky. Nothing is going to keep it together if you lose the ceiling of the fuselage. It will fall.
SOLOMON: Mary, I think the most important people -- most important question for a lot of people watching this is, are these planes safe to fly? I mean, would you fly Boeing after hearing these allegations? Would you let your family fly? What should people know?
SCHIAVO: Well, people are concerned and they shouldn't be concerned. And so, here is where the United States Federal Aviation Administration comes into play. These are very serious concerns which the United States government, FAA, told us back in 2022. They were solved. They allowed the resuming of deliveries of this aircraft. So, no, I think people all over the world will have pause about getting on a Dreamliner until the FAA gets out there, and they better be scrambling because this is really alarming that it's happened yet again with Boeing, and yet again with the Dreamliner fuselage assembly.
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And so, people will have pause, and this will cause people to think twice about a Boeing, and again, this is going to come down to the Federal Aviation Administration. Boeing can say it's safe. But, only the FAA gives a certification and the seal of approval and let's that plane in the air. And we have to ask, why FAA, did you not resolve this in 2020 to 2022?
SOLOMON: Yeah. Certainly a lot of questions. Well, we will wait to see what happens from these hearings. Mary Schiavo, thanks so much for the insights and perspective today. Good to see you.
SCHIAVO: Thanks.
SOLOMON: All right. Still to come, a tale of two contenders, Joe Biden leaning on his Scranton, Pennsylvania, roots, while Donald Trump tries to whip up drama for the Manhattan DA outside of the courtroom. Plus, we are halfway to the finish line, putting the jury in place for Trump's historic criminal trial. Details on how it's gone so far, coming up next.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You are looking, and we'll get this up for you, at a live view of Washington, D.C. We'll get it up for you. There it is. It is a mild spring day in the nation's capital. But, the political climate, well, that's heating up with a real split screen moment for Donald Trump and Joe Biden. So, President Biden, on the one hand, is continuing his campaign push through the all-important battleground state of Pennsylvania, reinforcing his message on the economy, while also acknowledging a growing ugly political divide.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I've never thought I'd see a sign when I'm going through a neighborhood, a rural town in the West, see big signs that's have a Trump sign, in the middle, it says "F" Biden, and having a little kid standing with his middle finger, seven-years-old, eight-years-old. Well, I promise, it happens all the time. It's not who we are.
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SOLOMON: Meanwhile, Trump swapped the courtroom for a past crime scene. Tuesday, after court, he stopped at a Harlem bodega where, in 2022, a store clerk stabbed an attacker. Murder charges against the clerk sparked a public outcry and criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. That's the same district attorney who is now leading the prosecution in the hush money trial. Trump bringing the case back into public view, used the visitor launch into some familiar complaints.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They want to keep the off the campaign trail. But based on what I'm doing, I think there is more press here that there is if I went out to some nice location.
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SOLOMON: OK. So, there is no court today. But, so far, seven jurors have been chosen to serve on Trump's historic criminal trial in New York. Jury selection does resume tomorrow.
Kara Scannell has more now on the start of this historic criminal trial so far.
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KARA MCGEE, DISMISSED POTENTIAL JUROR: It's this like massive sense of gravitas and importance because you know that this is history in the making.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The perspective from one dismissed potential juror, as dozens more filed into a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday. Seven jurors have now been seated. The seated jurors include an Irishman in sales, a female oncology nurse, a female English teacher at a charter school, a female software engineer, a male owner of an IT business, and two male attorneys. The jury selection strategy for both parties taking shape. Trump attorneys spending the afternoon digging into the social media posts of some potential jurors. Two were struck for a cause, one, for a social media post referencing Trump and quote "lock him up."
When a prosecutor asked the juror if he still believes Trump should be locked up, the jury answered, no. Trump was seen craning his neck toward him and flashing a smirk. Judge Juan Merchan issued a stern warning to Trump after he visibly reacted to a juror's answers about a video she posted on social media. He warned Trump's lawyer, "Your client was audibly uttering. I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom." That juror was questioned outside the presence of the others about a video she posted on social media, showing an outdoor celebration, quote "spreading the honking cheer around Election Day 2020." She said it was a New York celebratory moment. Trump's lawyers suggested she was biased.
The judge said he believed the juror could be fair and didn't excuse her. Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, telling those in the jury pool, quote "It's extraordinarily important to President Trump that we know we're going to get a fair shake." One juror said he finds Trump fascinating because he, quote "walks into a room and he sets people off one way or the other." Blanche seemed amused with the response.
Another juror said she learned for the first time Tuesday that Trump has been charged in three other cases. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass addressed prospective jurors, asking them to set aside any strong feelings. He asked each to consider if they would be able to look defendant Trump in the eye and return a guilty verdict if the case is proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Trump up here to look at the jurors, tilting his head once or twice as they were answering yes, according to pool reports.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
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SOLOMON: All right. Let's turn this discussion over to today's panel. Joining us now is Miles Taylor. He is the former Chief of Staff at the Homeland Security Department during the Trump administration. We are also joined by former Special Assistant to President Biden, Meghan Hays. Good to see you both.
Miles, let me start with you. So, by day, Trump was obviously in court as potential jurors were questioned and sort of vetted. By night, though, he was on the offensive at that Harlem bodega, attacking DA Bragg, attacking a crime in New York. But, crime is down in New York. Crime is down in a lot of major cities. So, what do you think the campaign's thinking is here?
MILES TAYLOR, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY DEPT.: Well, I think the conventional wisdom, Rahel, had been that it was going to be very difficult for Donald Trump to campaign while he was in the midst of these trials. And so, his campaign has tried to think through what are different spectacles, if you will, that we could pull off so that we're getting the attention that we want. So, Trump is getting his message out there. And I think what you saw with his visit to the bodega where, of course, the DA prosecuting him had had a controversial case, is just an example of how they're going to pursue this. They're going to keep him in the region. They're going to try to perform symbolic events.
Whether it's true that crime is up or down, I think, is irrelevant to most Trump supporters. They care about what his message is. And he is saying that the message is that there is greater crime in the Biden administration. They're going to believe it. And they seem to be lapping these events up. I mean, I've got to say, I reluctantly need to agree with the former President when he made that comment there at the end of the visit to the bodega, that there was probably more press there than there would have been if he'd done a campaign event outside of New York. And I think they're going to try to capitalize on that.
So, I would expect this just to be the beginning, and they're going to try to make it look like Donald Trump really is, quote, unquote, "a man of the people" by doing more of these events. Although I'll add, this was probably the first time he has ever been to a bodega.
SOLOMON: OK. Fair point. Meghan, let me ask. I mean, to Miles' point, there was a lot of press there. He did get the coverage. We are talking about it today. So, what's the Biden campaign's sort of reaction to that? I mean, he is in court. Yes. And he might be there for as long as two months. But, he has Wednesdays. He has after court. So, what's the Biden's response here -- the Biden campaign's response.
MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, & FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE AND PLANNING: Look, I think this was a political stunt. He is trolling the DA, and clearly at work. The DA's team put out a statement. So, clearly, it has not worked. I think he probably put out an announcement. Clearly, it was known that it's going there. There was bike rack-up. So, of course, there is a ton of media in New York. So, of course, they were there.
I do think that the Biden campaign is going to continue to draw the distinction between the two candidates here, and like the President is out campaigning right now in Pittsburgh, he is drawing a contrast on taxes and on people paying their fair share and building up the middle class. So, I do think where the campaign -- the Biden campaign is able to draw that contrast, like, Trump is always going to get media attention with these (inaudible) polls.
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SOLOMON: I want to get both of your reaction to something that I thought was really interesting. So, of the jurors chosen so far, all of them except one said that they knew Trump was facing charges in these other cases, but one said that she didn't know, actually that Trump was facing these other charges, these 88 charges.
Miles, your thoughts about this. I mean, obviously, people are very busy. They're living their lives, not necessarily glued to the TV. But, are you surprised to even know that?
TAYLOR: I was surprised, and I'm absolutely not going to question the integrity of that juror. But, I find it to be a really, really interesting jury pool. Some of the answers are interesting. And it's going to be difficult on both sides, and by both sides. I mean, the folks on one side of the bench who are dealing with the prosecution and the defense, recognize that there is a person being prosecuted here that everyone in America knows, and is probably the most polarizing figure in America. So, it's very difficult to select a jury pool.
But, I also want to point to the jury box, Rahel, because it will be very difficult to serve on this jury in the culture that we have today of crowd-sourced intimidation and violence. There are going to be security worries for these jurors. And you already saw it with the judge's very quick reaction to shut down even Trump looks and comments and muttering. That could be perceived as intimidating the jury. And this isn't just aimless speculation. We're talking about someone here who is being prosecuted, who in the past has intimidated courts and judges, and people who have ruled against him.
When I worked for Donald Trump, he said that there were judges around the country who had made rulings that would result in Americans' lives being in danger and who would die. He directly attacked courts. He attacked judges by names. One time in the Oval Office, he told us we needed to, quote "get rid of the judges." He wanted to eliminate a certain Circuit Court altogether. So, he has a long history of going directly after people in the justice system who are administering it or who are supposed to decide cases.
So, I think this judge has been very attuned to that. But, I don't think that will completely dispel the worries about the potential threats to folks in the jury pool. So, it's important to protect their identities.
SOLOMON: Yeah. There is a real question about whether too much about the jurors have already been released, and that's not on the media. I mean, it's the judge and it's the DA that gets to decide sort of what about the jury is released.
Meghan, let me let you have the last word here. Biden, of course, was in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He took the opportunity in front of his hometown crowd to crack a few jokes at Trump's expense. Look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: You know, I've already been delivering real results in fiscally responsible way. But, I know not everyone is feeling. Just the other day, a defeated-looking guy came up to me and asked if I could help. He was drowning in debt. I said, I'm sorry, Donald, but I can't help you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: So, Meghan, that's obviously a very warm crowd for Biden. But, I mean, is this a good strategy for that campaign to sort of troll Trump as Trump is sort of famous for doing trolling other people?
HAYS: Yeah, I think it's just a matter of how you troll him. The President, he is a very funny, humorous person. He does make jokes a lot in private, and obviously in public, as everyone can see. But, I do think he is trying to make the point here that like debt is affecting everyone and taxes are impacting everyone and we should be caring more about our middle class than billionaires. So, I do think he is trying to draw a point there and make a contract, and he is doing what is good and the media is covering it. So, it is good for TV and to get the message out there.
SOLOMON: OK. All right. We'll leave it here. Miles Taylor, Meghan Hays, good to see you both. Thank you.
All right. Coming up for us, transport chaos in Dubai after record rains. We're going to look at some of the other places also hit by severe storms. Plus, a new report claiming that climate change is making humans lose their own money and that could potentially outweigh the costs of working on the global problem. Stay with us.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOLOMON: Welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. And here are some of the international headlines we're watching for you today.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not invited to this year's D-Day commemoration in June. A French government official says that it's due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin attended the 70th anniversary in 2014. Now, Russia will be allowed to send a different representative to help mark the 80th anniversary of the pivotal offensive in World War II.
Later today, officials in Hawaii will release the first findings from their investigation into Hawaii's Maui wildfire, and the deadliest wildfires in the U.S. for more than a century claimed the lives of at least 100 people last August. The fires were fueled by Hurricane Dora offshore.
Torrential rain forced airlines to cancel or divert hundreds of flights at Dubai International Airport. Jets there had a hard time moving through flooded runways and tarmacs. Look at this video. Nearly 100 millimeters of rain fell in just 12 hours at the airport. That's enough for an entire year.
And in Pakistan and Afghanistan, floods and rain there killed more than 100 people. The heavy downpours in Pakistan are out of season as monsoon season doesn't start until June.
For more on this severe weather, let's bring in Meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek, what's going on here?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, Rahel. This system that you mentioned in Pakistan and Iran is also the same storm that brought the deluge of rain to Dubai in the UAE. Here it is, traversing the Gulf of Oman over the past 36 hours. And you can see how that trail of showers and thunderstorms just impacts the southern portions of Pakistan and in Tehran. But, there was several rounds of heavy rainfall in Dubai. I thought that was very interesting too, as this system kind of circulated across portions of the Middle East, including the UAE.
Look at these rainfall totals, 130 millimeters in some portions of Iran. Afghanistan also seeing some of the heavier precipitation. This has led to scenes like this, very similar to what we experienced in Dubai, but this is in Pakistan. Look at this torrent of water and debris. You cannot travel across that. That will sweep somebody off the road very quickly and obviously have the potential to sweep full vehicles from the ground as well.
So, further south into Amman, we had nearly 300 millimeters of rainfall, causing flooding concerns across the northern portions of this country. There is the evolution of the storm over the next 36 hours. You can see, still some additional precipitation projected. Our latest computer models indicate anywhere from 15 to 25 additional millimeters of rain, maybe some heavier precipitation along the coast of Pakistan, just west of Karachi.
And I found this interesting. Yesterday, we experienced more rain in a 12-hour period in Dubai than we receive in the entire year, and that wasn't the most amount of rain that the UAE actually experienced. We've all seen the terrifying scenes playing out where roads have become rivers in Dubai. But, look at this. Just to the south of Dubai, 254 millimeters. That's the most rainfall in a single day ever reported in the UAE. And I found this interesting as well. The records go back 75 years. This actually predates when they actually discovered oil in the UAE.
So, when we frame this in the context of climate change and the climate crisis, as we continue to extract the oil from the ground, we release these carbon into the atmosphere, these greenhouse trapping gases, and that has warmed our atmosphere by 1.2 degrees, and this is in essence allows for more atmosphere to be held within our atmosphere, at more water vapor, I should say, and that leads to the potential at least for more heavy rain events and more extreme heavy rain events like we saw in Dubai yesterday. Rahel.
[11:40:00]
SOLOMON: Yeah. And anecdotally, I mean, it certainly feels like and you lay it out there meteorologically. Meteorologist --
DAM: Right.
SOLOMON: -- Derek Van Dam, thank you.
We continue this further and bring in CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir, who joins us from New York. Bill, you and I usually talk around stories like this. I mean, what is causing this dangerous and unseasonal flooding? Give us a bit more sense, piggybacking off of what Derek said.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Derek laid it out there perfectly, a warmer atmosphere holds a lot more water. And in places like Dubai, which was not built with drainage in mind, monsoon level drainage, it's just -- it's another lesson that we live on a different planet. We're outside of the Goldilocks zone of which we built the modern world now, and it is happening. There were some questions whether cloud seeding gone wrong. Could have something to do this? That's when countries in this region actually do -- will spray salt particles into existing puffy clouds to try to get rain out of them. But, you can only get out as much rain as already is there.
The officials say there were no such flights before these storms. It was just -- this is climate change, folks. This is what it looks like in a warmer atmosphere.
SOLOMON: And Bill, I mean, this comes on the heels of a report that was just released that said climate change is literally making the globe poor, nearly 20 percent average income loss by 2050, and that is not spread evenly across the world. Talk to us a little bit about this.
WEIR: Yeah. A couple studies out today, really interesting, connecting your personal health, wealth and happiness with what is happening in the climate. The one in nature just basically says the tolls that are caused by damage to your house, it's going to cost more to grow and move food on a warmer planet. The mental health tools, worker productivity globally will be a hit on the economy close to 20 percent over the next 25 years or so. And it's not distributed evenly. This is what's so unfair about this crisis. The people who have the least amount of contributing to the problem will suffer the most.
Middle East and North Africa will suffer 22.4 percent decrease in their economic productivity. You can see North America towards the bottom, around 11 percent. Central Asia and Russia not suffering as much as Siberia becomes a breadbasket, as the planet warms closer to the northern poles there as well.
Another study, Rahel, interesting today, consumer reports here in the United States basically tried to quantify in the cost of a lifetime, and a baby born today, they say, will cost $500,000 in climate change cost, the same sort of cost there as well. Housing will cost more to repair and ensure food costs more as well. And so, $7 trillion was what they say, the economists say will cost to for countries to make the Paris climate targets. These disasters that are already baked in, they say, will bring about $37 trillion worth of damage. So, what is already sort of baked into the system, the world will now have to pay for how to adapt to that, even as incomes come down as a result.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Yeah. And we've already seen this. Right? You think about that really catastrophic flooding in Kenya last year. You think about how expensive home insurance has gotten, some insurers completely leaving certain places because --
WEIR: Exactly.
SOLOMON: -- it's just become so expensive. Bill Weir, we know you have a book, discussing some of these very themes. We're going to have you back soon to talk about it. Good to see you, Bill Weir.
WEIR: OK. It sounds good, Rahel. Thank you. All right.
SOLOMON: Yeah. All right. Coming up, a wild day on Capitol Hill as the U.S. Homeland Security Chief faces impeachment charges or not. It's another political battle between political parties. Plus, the U.S. House Speaker under bipartisan pressure to act on foreign aid approval. This while he continues to fight to keep his job. We're going to have a live report from Capitol Hill after this short break.
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[11:45:00]
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Donald Trump's social media platform is announcing big plans amid a rocky start. Truth Social says that it will take a shot at the streaming business, but shares of its company keep falling. It tumbled 14 percent on Tuesday after closing 18 percent lower on Monday. Shares were down more than 70 percent from the all-time high it set late last month. Now, the company is still worth billions of dollars. The cash just isn't flowing. Experts have warned investors to be careful here.
Let's bring in CNN's Hadas Gold to talk to us a little bit more about the future of Truth Social. Hadas, it wasn't very long ago that Truth Social event went public. What's going on here?
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, the stock is falling. When you just look at the graph since March 26 as they had that peak, it is just a very fast downward fall. As you noted, it's around 70 percent loss valuation. That's billions of dollars' worth that have been lost. And keep in mind that the former President, Donald Trump, he owns something like 60 percent of the shares here. He is the majority shareholder. So, that is wiping out something like hundreds of millions of dollars of his own personal net worth as a result of this stock tanking now. Last I checked earlier today, the stock is up just a bit today. But obviously, it can't make up what it's lost over the last few months.
Now, it's still worth money. The company is still worth billions of dollars. It's a sky-high valuation. But, the company is still having trouble making money, and it's desperate for cash. And there is a question about how much of this is really just a meme stock, in a way of people investing in this company because they like Donald Trump, but not so much because of the value of the company. Now, Truth Social is trying to add more value. They're announcing this streaming service yesterday. They're saying that they are going to launch the streaming. But, there is a question because there is not a lot of details we're seeing. We don't know who will be on it. All we know from the company is that they're going to be promoting content that they believe is suppressed, that has been cancelled in the past, or is at risk of being cancelled.
Now, listen to all the subjects they're going to be covering. They say news, religious channels, family-friendly content, including films and documentaries. Again, they say this is all going to be about things that they believe have been suppressed or canceled. We don't have details on the timing. They say they've been testing this out for the past six months. All they really went to details is about the phases of how they're going to get it to their consumers first, starting on apps on your phone, until it can become -- until you can see it on your streaming TV.
But, keep in mind, this is a competitive space and it's difficult to make money on streaming. Look at Disney. Disney has Disney+. Disney has a goldmine of content, and even they are having trouble becoming profitable in the streaming arena. And the audience share that this Truth Social is trying to go after, it's already being served by several smaller streamers. Think of places like Newsmax, like OAN. So, there is a question of how much audience they'll be able to get.
Now, Trump has a very loyal vocal fan base. They may be willing to pony up the money. But, there is a huge question about how this streaming service will work in the end for Donald Trump and his company.
SOLOMON: Also, Hadas, I mean, many questions about just the accessibility of this courtroom, of this proceeding in New York, the first criminal trial of a former President, and we won't be able to see the proceedings.
GOLD: Yeah. I mean, so, there is a law in New York that you can't have cameras in the courtroom. We see this, of course, also in the Supreme Court. And that's been the case for a long time. This isn't something special to Donald Trump's criminal trial. But, it is unique, because as you noted, it's the first criminal trial of a former President, and we, the public who are not in the courtroom, cannot see it ourselves. So, we have to rely on the reporters there. And we kind of ran into a situation recently where we saw the pitfalls of this. There were reports from reporters there that Donald Trump has fallen asleep during these proceedings.
Now, that's a problem for a candidate who has made fun of current President Joe Biden, calling him sleepy, Sleepy Joe, things like that. It's a bit of a problem politically if you're falling asleep. But, the Trump campaign has come out completely denying this. Now, the public, they can't see what's going on. They're relying only on what the reporters are saying or what the campaign is saying. Photographers can only come in, take a quick picture. Otherwise, what we're seeing are these court sketches. So, we can't see the cameras in there ourselves and people can't make their own decisions on what they're seeing.
[11:50:00]
Now, this is something that a lot of First Amendment advocates have been pushing for, trying to get more cameras into courtrooms. The judges aren't big fans of this. They don't like the spectacle. They go back to the O.J. Simpson case, thinking about the spectacle of that. I don't think we're going to see cameras in the courtroom necessarily anytime soon. But, we are sort of pushing through that every day, perhaps in the next few years, we'll see those coming up.
SOLOMON: Yeah. The one exception, at least as it pertains to Donald Trump, is the Fulton County case, although there is a question mark in terms of where we are, in terms of the timing of that.
Hadas Gold live for us in New York. Hadas, thanks so much.
GOLD: Thanks.
SOLOMON: All right. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Well, this is a chaotic day ahead on Capitol Hill, one that could see several high-stake showdowns. First, you have U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is facing a Senate impeachment trial that could begin today and also -- and pretty quickly. The process was started by Republicans in February over what they call his mishandling of the migrant crisis on the southern U.S. border. But, the Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to dismiss the charges -- dismissed the charges without a trial.
And then there is this. U.S. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is fighting to hold on to his job. He faces a Republican rebellion sparked by his plan to finally move forward on billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. And he may have to rely on U.S. House Democrats to not only get the foreign aid bills over the finish line, but he also may have to rely on them to keep and save his speakership.
Let's bring in CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox, who was on Capitol Hill, and joins us now. Lauren, we have been here before. Walk us through what's next.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, in many ways, we don't know what comes next. Right? Speaker Johnson just announcing, a few minutes ago, to his Republican colleagues that he is planning to move ahead with billions of dollars in aid for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, in three separate supplemental packages, which he expects will come to the floor on Saturday night here. And one of the thing that has become very clear is the swift reverberation of anger from conservatives on Capitol Hill who had been warning Johnson over the course of the last three days that moving forward could mean the end of the support within the conference, could mean the end of his time as Speaker.
But, Johnson potentially could be saved by Democrats, like you noted, even if the two lawmakers who are threatening to oust him now, Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene, move forward with that threat. There are two Democrats who have already publicly come out and said that they would be willing to vote on a procedural message to go ahead and dismiss that outright. Now, the question becomes, what do other Democrats do? What do other conservatives do? Are the numbers there to actually save him?
And then, there is the larger question. If you're Mike Johnson, do you want to stay in the job? If you're only there because of some Democratic support, what does that do to your ability to lead the Republican Party, especially in an election year, when you're trying to fundraise, when you're trying to ensure that you can grow your majority?
I think that those are some of the prime and key questions that we're going to be looking toward for the next several days. Again, Johnson has not made clear what his plans are if this motion to vacate actually comes to fruition. Rahel.
[11:55:00]
SOLOMON: Yeah. Certainly a lot to watch. But, you make a really valid point in terms of, if he keeps his job but it means that Democrats had to save him. What does that look like in terms of governing the conference there in terms of leading his party? Lauren Fox, we'll leave it here, live for us on Capitol Hill. Lauren, thanks so much.
All right. One more thing for us today. You can call it the sequel to "Snakes on a Plane." A 40-centimeter snake stowed away on a bullet commuter train in Japan, leading to a 17-minute delay for more than 600 passengers, 17 minutes. Now, that may not sound like a lot, but the bullet trains there do have such a strong reputation as being highly efficient, as being very reliable. And consider this. The railway company once apologized after a conductor left the station 20 seconds early.
On that happy note, we know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
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